I really don’t think think this is a debate about politeness. I mean, I’m happy to have that debate, too, but it’s not as important. Is it polite to call someone a liar? Probably not; but if they are a politician, like Jennifer Lynch is, and they really are lying, as I’ve meticulously documented, and the lies are important lies, then I think that politeness must take second place behind public accountability. I think it would be unethical to elevate mere politeness for politeness’s sake ahead of responsible government. Those who think that one can expose the lies — and corruption and abuse and neo-Nazi activities(!) — of a 200-person, $25-million/year government agency without marshalling the full force of the English language are either naive and inexperienced, or — as Jennifer Lynch is doing — simply trying to change the subject from the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s bad behaviour.
When Canada’s censorship laws are finally repealed, and the abusive, corrupt staff at the CHRC and other HRCs are disciplined for their outrageous (and, in some cases, illegal) behaviour, we can then have a debate as to whether or not it is fair game to call their chief politician and spin doctor “haggard”. Until we have shut down the real and pressing menace to our civil liberties, I’m not too interested about whether or not I’m using the wrong fork for my salad, or other exquisite courtesies.
Ezra Levant, “More letters”, EzraLevant.com, 2008-08-04
August 5, 2009
QotD: It’s not about politeness
1 Comment
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
[…] Read the whole thing here. A little more at Quotulatiousness. […]
Pingback by Today’s Lynch List « The Lynch Mob — August 7, 2009 @ 20:04